Scotland Yard to scrap more than 100 specialist units

More than 100 specialist police units in Britain’s biggest force could be
scrapped as part of sweeping budget cuts of more than £500 million.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Wesley Johnson, Home Affairs Correspondent

11:58AM GMT 09 Jan 2013

Burglary squads, robbery teams and other small units "focused on narrow crimes" will all go and be replaced by a single team of detectives in each of the 32 London boroughs who will deal with a range of crimes.

Simon Byrne, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said some officers in specialist squads were not trained detectives but “just constables who wear jeans and a t-shirt” as the force announced plans to move 800 specialist detectives into neighbourhood teams.

“Every crime takes place in a street, a home, it's wedded in a business, it's wedded in a community,” he said.

“At the moment we've got over 107 different squads working in my bit of the Met. It's just inefficient.

“Most of the people that we arrest and deal with are spree offenders. By putting false barriers around how we investigate, we miss a trick.”

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He added: “Some of the people in squads, if you're using how we train and accredit, aren't actually detectives, they're just constables who wear jeans and a t-shirt.

“So their level of training is different to someone who has gone on a course.”

Under the plans, police services could also be offered in the Post Office in a trial scheme as stations and front counters across the capital close.

Stephen Greenhalgh, the deputy mayor of London, said the force was in “very early discussions” to set up a pilot scheme in six months’ time.

“In theory Post Offices could provided a fixed point on the high street, with some branding with the Metropolitan Police Service, where you could potentially bring your lost property, if you need to produce identification, if there's a licence that you need to go to a police station for you could maybe do that in a Post Office,” he said.

“And even very simple crime reporting potentially could be done.”

Some 65 “underused” front counters in police stations would close under the plans and be replaced with more than 200 access points in places like churches and mosques as well as supermarkets, community centres and libraries.

The force has already said it is looking to sell its Scotland Yard headquarters.

The proposals, which will be put to a public consultation, would also see a reduction in senior ranks, with 37 senior manager and 7,160 supervisors being reduced to 26 senior managers and 6,022 supervisors by 2015.

But the number of constables would increase from 24,630 to 25,909 in two years’ time.

Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey said dealing with fewer chances for promotion for the remaining officers was “one of the most challenging things internally”.

He said: “In fairness that is part of the whole programme of change. There will be fewer opportunities for promotion in the short term, but in 2015/2016 that will open up again.”